


the fires in the sky

by Lackystars



Category: Tales of Berseria
Genre: "oh no..... there's only one bed.... damn my reaper's curse", Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, also edna is there, i guess, she cockblocks them but not really, the end gets a bit steamy so uh, they get drunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-13 23:44:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17497577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lackystars/pseuds/Lackystars
Summary: Rokurou frowned. "No, you should. I'm fine with the floor."A husky growl came out of the blond. "Are you fucking deaf? Take the bed."It all started with a question, and a rather tactless one at that.





	the fires in the sky

It was a night like any other, where the ragtag group of misfits had slowly begun to settle into their usual routine. You would find Velvet bickering with Eleanor over the most mundane things-  _you rub the butter into the flour, not the other way around!-_ with Laphicet always the peacemaker. Meanwhile, Magilou would be darting around everywhere, a perpetual free spirit.

And finally, you would find the two men sharing their drinks, learning. Whether it was about each other and their deepest secrets, or maybe even the best way to roast a prickleboar, one thing was certain. Rokurou and Eizen - unlikely comrades, and unlikelier friends - they most certainly had a 'thing' for each other, however, defining it wasn't so easy. And maybe, it didn't need to be. 

It all started with a question, and a rather tactless one at that. 

"When was the last time you bedded a maiden," Rokurou began, taking a quick swig of Eizen's ale.

The alcohol was far too weak in comparison to his usual sake- it tasted like grass juice, really- but he supposed that the familiar warmth was indiscriminate and welcome enough. And besides, there was something oddly therapeutic about sharing drinks with a fellow mate. He had slowly become used to the feeling... perhaps a bit too used to it, considering they would have to part ways one day.

Rokurou wondered if he was deserving of such camaraderie. After all, even if his personality was virtually identical to when he was a human, he was still a daemon. When he condemned himself to his path, he thought he was to walk it alone. He definitely didn't expect allying with a pirate malak. 

There was a silence between the two, and Rokurou wasn't sure if Eizen was just contemplating his answer or ignoring him. No matter. One way or another, Rokurou would have his fun. "Or," he added on. "A gentleman for that matter." 

He figured the blond would get flustered, or at the very least, drop the calm and collected act. Swirling the bitter liquid around with his tongue, Rokurou looked right into Eizen's eyes. They were blue like the ocean, and stormy all the same, but they didn't seem to betray his true feelings. Not yet anyway. 

However, just as casually as Rokurou had asked, Eizen answered. "Frankly speaking, I don't recall. So it must have been a fair while ago. Not that I particularly care." the malak remarked. Sighing, he took a sip of the sake, face scrunching up at the sharpness. "And if you must know, I have no qualms about the gender of the person that I am bedding. Additionally, we cannot procreate. It's all the same to me."

Rokurou hadn't expected Eizen to be so brazenly honest, and it wasn't like he could blame it on the alcohol- the blond sounded as he always did- as if he was explaining mildly interesting architecture. "I see. That's understandable." Rokurou commented idly, fidgeting with his drink.

In truth, it had sparked something inside of him. Curiosity, with a hint of desire. Behind the walls of indifference that Eizen put up was a fire that burned strong, with heart and with all his strength. His conviction was searing, and Rokurou could only begin to imagine about what made Eizen the man he was. He was going to find out.

The daemon always appreciated a good challenge. They say that you shouldn't play with fire, lest you get burned, but well, since when did pithy sayings ever stop Rokurou?

Eizen glanced to the side, aloof look on his face. "Why, are you offering to be my next?" he asked nonchalantly, as if he was merely discussing the weather. 

Surely Eizen was kidding. But as it was, there wasn't even the slightest hint of sarcasm or jest in his voice. Now it was Rokurou's turn to become flustered. "No!" he exclaimed, perhaps a bit more anxiously than he would have liked. He would be lying if he said that the thought hadn't crossed his mind, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to admit as such. "I mean, uh..." 

...Why was he acting like such a virgin? He was a  _man_. He could take whatever he wanted, Eizen too if he so damned pleased. 

Eizen spoke, cocking his head slightly. "...Am I not good enough for you?" He almost sounded disappointed but the menacing glint in his eyes told otherwise. Although, there was something flattering about the fact that Eizen (somewhat) valued Rokurou's opinion. 

"Well, I wouldn't be  _opposed_ to the idea, but... it'd be kinda weird, you know?" Rokurou said. His ale was looking awfully interesting right about now. "Seeing each other every day, especially after we've seen each other like  _that..._ " he trailed off, casting his gaze downward. But before he could continue, a familiar laughter resounded.

"What Rokurou here means is that," Magilou greeted, a devilish grin on her face. She pointed at the blond. "You, Eizen, are not exactly the soft docile ladies Rokurou takes to bed and whispers sweet nothings to." 

There was a low growl coming from Eizen and a shout of indignation from Rokurou as they protested together in unison. "What the hell are you talking about?" 

Magilou hummed in thought. "Eizen, I think you're a real looker. Heck, maybe even my type in another lifetime. But anyway, I digress. My point is, where Rokurou would be expecting blossoming bosoms, he'd find perky pecs! And I don't think he's ready for that kind of excitement." She turned to the man in question, smirking. "After all, you haven't done it with another man, have you?" 

The witch had expected vehement denial, however, those expectations were soon to be averted. "T-that's none of your business." Rokurou muttered. Magilou cocked an eyebrow in intrigue. It's not like he said no, after all. So maybe there was still hope for him. 

"Actually, I'm curious about this too. Do you really not have any experience in this matter? I imagine that someone of your...  _character_ would amass quite the following, male or female." Eizen stated in a matter of fact way. 

A groan emanated from Rokurou. Such words coming from Magilou was no big surprise, but he didn't expect the malak to prod further. Or maybe, he did. Eizen was a scholar at heart, and he was always learning, even if it was something as inane as Rokurou's love history. Which was really dumb, because there was absolutely nothing of interest. Nope, not at all.  

"Meh. I don't blame Rokurou for his reservations. I mean, can you imagine? One moment, you're all caught up in a twilight tryst, when all of a sudden, bam! Laphicet accidentally walks in on the two of you! Or even worse, Eizen starts babbling about the history of contraception or something! Talk about bad luck. Especially with that Reaper's Curse of his." Magilou laughed sardonically. 

A dark expression flashed across Rokurou's face, turning into a wicked smile. "Magilou, shut up. Right now. Or you'll be the inn's daily special tomorrow." 

Likewise, Eizen was equally as serious, but for a completely different reason. A man's pride was everything, and he wasn't sure if he appreciated the implications of Magilou's words. "Now just wait a second," he said, irritation as plain as day. "Are you calling me bad in bed?? I'll have you know, my performance is perfectly adequate!" Eizen announced triumphantly. 

"Er Eizen... I don't think that's something you should be proud of." 

"And why not? Are you telling me you could do a better job?" 

Rokurou bit his lip. The pirate was baiting him, that much was obvious. But sometimes, bait was meant to be taken. Two could play at that game. "Um, yeah? Fuck it, I'll prove it right now!" 

"Boys, please. Save it for the bedroom. Anyway, there's a favor I need to ask of you two." Magilou said, but she might as well not be there. The two men were staring at each other so intently that you didn't even need a metaphorical knife to cut the tension.

Slamming down his drink with one hand, and clenching his fist with the other, Eizen spat out, "Oh yeah? You’re going to regret saying that, because Teach is gonna teach this punk a lesson!"

There was something strange about the way Eizen was acting. He wasn't normally this... aggressive? Or passionate, rather. Sure, the two friendly rivals always had their little competitions, but it was almost as if this held personal stakes for him. 

“Then you better work me  _hard_  for it because I’m not going down without a fight!” Rokurou roared. He enjoyed a challenge, and there was no way he was giving up now. And if he could mess with Eizen, then all the better.

Magilou let out a scoff of disgust. "...I did NOT need to know that you're into roleplay. LIKE. I. WAS. SAYING." Magilou screeched, and a bit too loudly at that. The other patrons in the inn began to murmur, shooting glances their way.  _“Like I was saying,”_  she repeated in a whisper. Magilou pointed to a table in the corner. “See that girl over there, with the parasol? I’ve been trying to talk to her because she looked kinda down—"

“Hold up. You’re actually capable of empathy?” Rokurou interjected.

“Excuse you! I am a very nice person! But she won’t even look at me. So I was hoping that one of you two with your, ugh,  _manly charms,_  could persuade her.”

Eizen sighed once again, downing the rest of his drink. "Alright. Only if you quit bugging us." he got out of his chair, and headed to the table in question, Rokurou and Magilou following. 

However, as soon as they approached within a few metres of the girl, she hastily bolted out of her seat and dashed out the door. The hood she was wearing obscured her face, but Eizen could almost make out something like shock. Turning to Rokurou, the two shared a curt nod, and followed the girl outside. 

"Is something the matter?" Eizen called out, keeping his voice level. There was no real reason to show concern over a mere stranger, but there was an odd feeling about her that he couldn't quite shake off. 

His suspicions were soon to be correct, when suddenly, a pillar of earth sprouted out from the ground beneath them. The girl twirled her umbrella lazily. Or well, as lazily one could be when they were summoning rocks to pelt their foes with.  

There was no time to think, only the time to fight. 

Rokurou settled into a defensive stance, preparing to evade the next barrage of attacks. But...

Did the world always sway this much?

"Ugh," Rokurou hiccuped. "I think... I think I've had too much to drink." he murmured, cheeks turning bright red. His head was pounding with the force of a thousand drums, and it was as if all the strength in his upper body had disappeared. 

"Get it together! This person means business!" Eizen shouted, dashing in for a quick strike. The girl had anticipated this, and raised a wall of rock to defend herself from his attack. "Magilou! Would it kill you to help us?!" 

"I'm trying! But-" Magilou quickly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding being impaled by the earth. "I can't cast with all these artes in the way! Cover me!"

Eizen grimaced, and began to summon blades of wind, to cut through the defensive barriers the girl put up. Wind had an elemental advantage over earth. But their enemy was smart, and also knew this. She redirected her artes to focus on disrupting Eizen. 

The battle was dragging on, with all the parties involved slowly becoming weary. In the back of his mind, Eizen was astounded at how three (well, two and a half) people were failing to take down a little girl all by herself. She was an admirable adversary, whoever she was.

But then, something changed. The girl stopped focusing on Eizen.

 _This is my chance! She's open,_ Eizen thought to himself. But just as he was preparing to break her guard, she tapped her umbrella once again. 

A massive chunk of earth materialised above Rokurou, ready to crush him mercilessly.

Seeing this, a primal sensation coursed through Eizen's body. It was something like rage, or maybe even fear, but whatever it was, it could wait. If he didn't do something  _now,_ Rokurou would die. And that was something he could not let happen, no matter what. "Damn it! Rokurou, move! Quickness!" he chanted.

Rokurou barely managed to dodge the falling rock, mere milliseconds away from being crushed. His body felt light, and his mind became clear. Rokurou was no stranger to Eizen's supportive artes, but something felt different this time. It was almost as if the arte was driven by desire... the desire to protect. Closing the gap between them with a leap, Rokurou slashed at the girl with his daggers. 

The girl was quicker than he expected and managed to avoid getting her throat slit. Unfortunately, her cloak wasn't so lucky. The hood hiding her face fell apart, and under it was blonde hair and blue eyes. She was the splitting image of Eizen. 

For a brief moment, the world was silent. Nobody uttered a single word as they slowly took in the gravity of the situation. Until finally, Eizen broke the silence, his voice dark and gravelly. 

"Edna." Eizen said. 

"Hello, Brother. I hate you so much." Edna replied.

"...What the hell are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." 

"Why did you attack us?"

"If I killed you, I would know where you are. In your grave," Edna muttered bitterly. Her eyes began to well with tears, her breath hitching with sobs. "So... so I won't ever have to spend decades looking for you again. And at least, I could properly say goodbye." she sunk to her knees, distraught.

Magilou slowly walked up to Rokurou, quietly speaking to him. "Let's give them some space."

"Yeah." Rokurou agreed.

* * *

"Take the bed." Eizen said.

After saying goodbye to Edna, Rokurou and Eizen had decided to call it a night and retire to their room. However, when they entered the room, they were met with the sight of only a small double bed. Another unfortunate side effect of the Reaper's Curse. 

Rokurou frowned. "No, you should. I'm fine with the floor."

A husky growl came out of the blond. "Are you fucking deaf? Take the bed." 

Rokurou opened his mouth to protest once more, but decided against it. Eizen was being uncharacteristically grumpy. The daemon knew better than to further aggravate him. Stripping down to his undergarments, Rokurou slipped into the bed.

Moments later, he was joined by Eizen. They shifted around, trying to find a comfortable position, but the bed was small and pushing the other off would just be plain rude. In the end, they faced away from each other, but their backs were touching. 

"...If you wanted to sleep with me, you could have just said so." 

"Whatever. I'm a pirate, remember? Did you really think I would be so kind as to let you hog the whole bed for yourself? And besides, huddling together is one of the most efficient ways of conserving body heat."

"I don't feel the cold, and I doubt you do either. And you know what's funny? You're so intent on coming across as this big scary guy that you forget how kind you really are. Like earlier, after the battle. You could have had Magilou heal me, but you insisted on doing it yourself. Why?"

"Tch. I don't need to explain myself to you."

"I guess not. So, what were you and Edna talking about?"

Eizen didn't respond. He looked up to the ceiling, reflecting on the events of the night. 

 _After crying for quite some time, a conversation where no words were left unsaid, and a parfait_   _with extra fruit, Edna had considerably cheered up. Following introductions, the group was merrily chatting, recounting their various escapades and the like. Suddenly, Edna pulled her brother away to talk to him privately._

 _"_   _You love him, don't you? Rokurou boy here." Edna remarked, a teasing lilt to her voice. Eizen didn't know how to respond to her claims. It wasn't like he agreed with such a bold term such as 'love', but he couldn't deny her either. His answer was a playful flick on the nose._

_"Ugh, stop it! I'm not a kid anymore. But I'm serious, Eizen. I saw how desperately you fought to protect him. I saw the fire in your eyes. You were genuinely scared that I was going to kill him, weren't you? I've never seen you act like that before."_

_"That's... that's because he's become someone special to me."_

_"Huh. Even more special than me?"_

_"Come on Edna, don't be like that."_

_"Did you honestly believe that I would be okay with just letters and a stupid pot??"_

_"I'm sorry, alright? But you know how dangerous it is out there, especially under the effects of my curse. I wanted to protect you."_

_"I know, and I appreciate that, I really do. It's just... Well, you're always talking about living by your own creed and stuff, right? The same goes for me. All I wanted was to see you again."_

_"And you have achieved that. So what will you do now?"_

_"I don't know. Go back home, I guess. But not before I've tried all the palmiers here! Oh, and another thing. If Rokybo breaks your heart, I'll be sure to crush him for real."_

_"That's my little sister. I'll miss you, Edna."_

_"I'll miss you too, Eizen."_

Silence fell upon the two, but it was the comfortable type of silence, where they were talking but no words were being spoken. Where their emotions, or at least, the emotions they thought they had, were laid bare. Where they were vulnerable being so close together, yet safe all the same.  

"I think everyone deserves a second chance," Eizen began, seemingly out of nowhere.

Rokurou raised an eyebrow, wondering if the malak was about to deliver another philosophical lecture, but he continued to listen.

"Though, it's not because they are worthy of mercy. It's so that they can learn from their mistakes and suffer for it. That's what it means to be alive. To have regrets because you care and to walk the path you choose- because whatever lies at the end, it's yours, whether it brings you solace or sorrow."

"Rokurou," Eizen continued."The feelings I have for you. I don't know what they will bring me, but there's one thing I know. As long as you are with me, I'll protect you until the day I die. I love you."

Rokurou couldn't help but to burst out in laughter, his voice bordering on the verge of hysteria. "Hey, I dunno about all those pretty words, so here's my answer." Without thinking, he rolled over and kissed Eizen in the crook of his neck. He bit down- hard enough to draw blood, exploring the exposed flesh with his tongue- savouring the very taste of Eizen. 

He then moved to meet Eizen's lips, but before he did, his eyes lit up with a spark of inspiration. "Oh wait, I came up with something."

"You're always keeping up the tough act, but will you be able to keep it up for a daemon like me? After all, there's a fine line between determination and depravity. Though... I wouldn't mind which one it is you feel for me. I love you too, Eizen."

Eizen said nothing, letting the draconic desire in him take over. 


End file.
